Attorney General's Help Asked

Mayor Asking Blumenthal To Fight Hospital Merger

September 09, 1998|By ANDREA COMER; Courant Staff Writer

VERNON — Mayor Joseph Grabinski has asked for the state attorney general's help in fighting a health network's quest for a single license.

In a letter dated Sept. 2, Grabinski asked Attorney General Richard Blumenthal to help block what he calls a ``merger'' attempt by Eastern Connecticut Health Network. The network filed a certificate of need in March with the state Office of Health Care Access, the agency that would grant a single license to operate Manchester Memorial and Rockville General hospitals.

Grabinski said the merger should be halted on the basis of antitrust violations and asked how it would affect Rockville General's trust fund. ECHN has stated that if the single license request were approved, the names of both Manchester Memorial and Rockville General would change.

``Rockville General Hospital would cease to exist and all the bequests left [to the hospital] would be distributed . . . to ECHN,'' Grabinski's letter states.

``We just received the letter today,'' Blumenthal said Tuesday. ``We're going to review it very closely, especially with a view to whether there are antitrust issues as [Grabinski] suggests.''

Before submitting the letter to Blumenthal, the town contacted the Office of Health Care Access requesting intervenor or party status to ECHN's single-license proceedings.

Office of Health Care Access spokeswoman Claudette Carveth said the town's request was denied because the town did not meet the criteria. ``Persons are considered for party status whose legal rights, duties or privileges may be affected by the office's decision,'' Carveth said.

``Designation as an intervenor is granted to persons who can demonstrate that they would offer evidence or expert testimony that would not be available to the office in any other way.''

Carveth added, however, that any testimony given during the public hearing by residents or other interested persons becomes part of the permanent record and must be considered by the Office of Health Care Access in making its decision.

Carveth said the town was notified in a letter Tuesday that it did not meet the criteria for party or intervenor status.

ECHN spokeswoman Joanne Donaghue said the network was not aware Grabinski had contacted Blumenthal's office, but rejected the mayor's point regarding antitrust violations.

``We know of no antitrust issues whatsoever,'' Donaghue said. ``Antitrust issues were addressed in 1995 when the corporate parents merged and information was provided to both the State Attorney General's Office and the Federal Trade Commission.

``With respect to the issue of charitable gifts, the attorney general's office has requested information on endowments . . . and we are fully cooperating with that inquiry.''

Donaghue said the decision to deny the town party or intervenor status had nothing to do with ECHN.

``The authority for deciding who receives special status is clearly with the commissioner of [Office of Health Care Access], and he has made his ruling,'' Donaghue said.

A public hearing on the single-license issue has been scheduled for Thursday at 1 p.m. in Hearing Room 2C of the Legislative Office Building in Hartford. Residents who wish to speak will be given five minutes to address the issue, or may submit written testimony in advance.